Sweden at the Winter Olympic Games
Sweden first joined the Winter Olympic Games at the inaugural 1924 Games in Chamonix, France, and has participated in the event from then on. The Swedish Olympic Committee was established and acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee in 1913.
Sweden is strong in cross-country skiing, speed skating, figure skating, alpine skiing, biathlon, ice hockey and curling.
Sweden’s first-ever gold medalist at the 1924 Winter Games was Gillis Emanuel Grafström who has ranked first in the men’s singles event in figure skating. Grafström also took the gold medal in 1920 and 1928 and a silver medal in 1932.
Other prominent Swede athletes include cross-country skier, Edy Sixten Jernberg who won 9 medals (4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze). Jernberg is regarded as one of the best cross-country skiers. Another country skier, Thomas Wassberg cornered four Olympic gold medals.
Sweden’s 7-gold medal haul in Turin, Italy in 2006 is the nation’s most productive performance at the Winter Games in terms of gold medals won.
Trivia
- In 1928, in St Moritz, Gillis Grafström of Sweden won the last of his three consecutive gold medals in figure skating.
- In Squaw Valley 1960, Sweden's Klas Lestander won the first-ever biathlon, an event that combines cross-country skiing and shooting.
Related Pages
- About Sport in Sweden
- Sweden at the Summer Olympics
- More Winter Olympics Countries
- Winter Olympics main page.
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